It all started
With Oreo

Backstory

We’re Cynthia and Elliot — a mother-daughter team running a small rabbitry in North San Luis Obispo County, California, specializing in the ethical breeding of Holland Lops to the ARBA Standard of Perfection. At its heart, this is Elliot’s project. It’s her 4-H animals and her show record, and the direction the rabbitry goes is really her call. Cynthia’s along for the ride — driving to shows, hauling cages, and occasionally being talked out of an impulse buy. We attend a number of shows and fairs each year and are proud members of the HLRSC, working to improve her specialty points standing through thoughtful breeding — though we’ll be the first to admit we still have work to do.

Our story doesn’t start with rabbits, though. It started the year hoarding toilet paper and getting groceries delivered to your door became a way of life. Back then, “distance learning” meant learning from a distance — and with a breadwinner whose job is remote, we found ourselves with the freedom to roam the state from top to bottom. We bought a used travel trailer so we could literally bring our home with us and started exploring — and in doing so, found ourselves drawn to the Central Coast, passing through so often that it started to feel like home. Eventually, it became home: once things started hopping again, we moved out to wine country to embrace a quieter pace of life, landing on a modest piece of land with room for a big garden, a small orchard, and a flock of chickens that quickly tripled in size.

That’s when we joined 4-H. At our very first meeting, the conversation was all about the hang weight of steer and how to get a heifer up to weight for the fair — and it really struck home that we weren’t in the city anymore.

Our journey with Holland Lops began in December 2022 with one rabbit: Oreo, Elliot’s original 4-H project animal, purchased from Jordin with Jash Rabbitry — who has since become a valued mentor and someone we highly look up to. If you’re looking to source a quality Holland Lop in the Bakersfield area, we can’t recommend her enough. Oreo turned out to be the perfect introduction to what would become a full-blown Holland Lop obsession. She’s since retired from the show table into a far more important role — beloved, overly spoiled house rabbit, who still joins us on our travel trailer adventures to this day.

It wasn’t until late 2024 that we realized if we wanted to be truly competitive in the show ring, we needed to step up our program. Enter Lots of Lops Rabbitry’s Saturday Morning Cartoons (“Toons!” — a gorgeous, if petite, broken black buck) in January 2025. Shortly after, we brought in Mellow, a Brock’s Fallen Ears doe, and paired her with Toons — welcoming our very first litter of babies in March 2025. From there, our rabbitry really started taking shape, built around quality, temperament, and staying true to the Holland Lop standard. Since then, we’ve brought in several more animals, but three in particular from Jewel of Rose Meadow Farm have been pivotal to the foundation of our herd — most notably Agent J, a four-time Best in Show winner who has firmly claimed his place as the KING of the barn, both in legacy and in his easygoing, Labrador-like personality. He’s a forever favorite and isn’t going anywhere. Jewel was showing in youth when we first connected with her and has since graduated to open, with her stock holding its own against California and nationwide Holland Lop royalty. She’s truly someone Elliot looks up to.

If you’re looking for a breeder, we’d encourage you to ask questions: Do they show? Do they know their pedigrees? Are they breeding with purpose, or just for profit? Thoughtful breeding protects the rabbits we raise and the integrity of the breed as a whole.

We take breeding seriously. Working toward the Standard of Perfection helps preserve the health, structure, and temperament of the breed, and purposeful pairings prevent genetic issues and protect the traits that make Holland Lops what they are. Breed casually, without regard to pedigree or health, and you end up with poor conformation, inherited defects, animals that just don’t thrive. As ethical breeders, we plan our pairings carefully and take full responsibility for every rabbit we produce.

That sometimes means making tough decisions. Being honest with ourselves about an animal’s long-term wellbeing has to come first — it’s a lesson 4-H teaches well: think with your head and your hands about an animal’s health and future, not just your heart.

Thanks for taking the time to read our story. Whether you’re here because you’re considering a rabbit from our barn or simply exploring the breed, we’re glad you stopped by. We’re always happy to support youth exhibitors and anyone curious about Holland Lops. Everyone starts somewhere, and we’re rooting for you wherever your journey with rabbits takes you.